MOSCOW, April 13. /TASS/. Anti-western sentiments and rejection of the policy of dominance spread among the African youth, and Russia must use this situation in order to strengthen friendly ties with African states, says Vsevolod Tkachenko, head of the Russian Foreign Ministry’s Africa Department.

"There is a rapidly growing and increasingly influential audience - the youth, the African street; I would even call it an electronic street. I mean the youth that become increasingly online-oriented. We see a natural spike of anti-Western sentiments here, a rather serious one, caused by rejection of Western disregard of all decency in international affairs," the diplomat said during a roundtable in the Federation Council Thursday.

According to Tkachenko, this part of the society has strong influence on African elites.

"Our work on combating neo-colonialism is based on bringing them equality, respect and sometimes even preferential treatment. It is worth a lot," Tkachenko said, noting that, in the meantime, the West "continues to plunder Africa" and "treats people without respect."

According to the diplomat, at least half of the 54 African states treat Russia with a strongly expressed sympathy and with a significant share of understanding of what it does and what is happening in the world.

"And the rest are latent sympathizers, who have to fit into Western narratives due to their financial, economic and political dependence on them," Tkachenko said, noting that these countries are also ready to support Russia in case of its success on the international arena.